Geragos spoke candidly about his disapproval of the recently signed deal, which has been heavily criticized, telling ABC News on Monday (August 19), "This deal between Jay-Z and the NFL crosses the intellectual picket line." In addition to calling the deal "cold-blooded," the attorney told the news outlet that Kaepernick wasn't made aware of the deal before it was signed. "I can confirm to you that the deal was already done prior to any conversation that [Kaepernick] had with Jay-Z and he certainly didn’t have any conversations with the NFL," Geragos explained.

Many celebrities and fans have voiced their disapproval of the surprise partnership given Jay's previous support of Kaepernick — he was outspoken about the NFL's alleged blackballing of the former football player, he publicly supported Kaepernick's kneeling protests, and Jay even expressed his own dislike of the football league. Not only that, the Roc Nation exec's explanation of his reasoning to sign a deal with the NFL caused many to question his motives.

In a press conference on Wednesday (August 14) — ironically the third anniversary of when Kaepernick first kneeled during an NFL game — the Roc Nation exec appeared to dismiss players' kneeling protests after being asked if he would kneel or stand for the national anthem. "I think we've moved past kneeling. I think it's time to go into actionable items," Jay responded. Shortly after Jay's press conference, TMZ reported that the business mogul "had multiple reasons for becoming part of the NFL family," and "one of them is that he is going to become part-owner of an NFL team." Sources told the outlet, Jay is going to have a "significant ownership interest" in an NFL team and "it is going to happen in the near future."